Last updated 28 August 2026.
Three things nobody tells you about pumpkin picking, and all three catch people out.
You almost certainly have to book. Every farm near us now requires it, and one of them will turn you away at the gate without it.
The ticket does not include a pumpkin. Entry is one price, the pumpkin is another, and at some farms it is charged by the kilo.
Wear wellies. Not boots you like. The fields are ploughed, and it is October.
With that said — here are the ones within reach of us, nearest first.
The three closest
Garsons Farm, Esher — about fifteen minutes
“Pumpkin Parade 26” is running. Specific October dates not published yet.
The closest proper pick-your-own to us, and the one with the most on the site — garden centre, farm shop and restaurant all in the same place, so it works as a morning rather than an errand.
Booking is essential and online only. Their own wording: tickets are not available on the gate, in-store or over the phone. £6.50 to £8 per person depending on how busy the date is, under-twos free, automatic discount for groups of four or more. The ticket is entry only — pumpkins are charged separately by size and type when you leave.
No dogs, assistance dogs excepted. The farm closes at 5pm through October.
Their October dates go up in advance, so check the ticket page from mid-September.
Hobbledown Heath, Hounslow — about twenty minutes
25 September to 1 November 2026.
The first to open, by some margin, and the only one on this list we can give you firm 2026 dates for today.
Pumpkin Days from £7 to £7.50 per person, ages one to two £3.75, under-ones free, plus a £2.75 booking fee. There is a bundle with the adventure park from £20. The car park is run by a third party and is chargeable — worth budgeting for.
Dogs on selected dates only — 2, 9 and 15 October — at £2.50 per dog.
More of an event than a field: games, photo points, marshmallow toasting, food vendors. Buggy-friendly, which none of the others promise, and the patch is a five-minute woodland walk from the entrance.
Crockford Bridge Farm, Addlestone — about twenty minutes
Their page says pumpkin picking opens 4 October and finishes before the end of the month.
Tickets are already live, so the patch is definitely running. £7.50 per person over the age of one, plus booking fee, free parking included, pumpkins charged at the exit.
Advance booking only. Their wording is blunt: do not arrive on site without a booking as you may be turned away.
No dogs in the fields — Environmental Health rules — though dogs on leads are fine in the seating and sales area. Street food vendors at weekends, and there is gelato and coffee at the Wilding Barn.
One caution: they run a separate ticketed Pumpkin Festival, and that page is still showing 2024 content. Don’t book off it. The festival tickets historically go on sale in September and sell out quickly.
Worth the drive
Copas Farms — The Fruit Fields, Iver and Cookham
Iver about twenty-five minutes, Cookham about thirty-five. Reopening in October 2026 — their site mentions 4 October, treat that as provisional.
The cheapest entry by a distance: £3 per person plus £1 admin, which includes parking, field access and a wheelbarrow. Pumpkins are £1.20 a kilo, squash £1.99 a kilo, small squash from £1.50.
No dogs, service dogs excepted. There is a maize maze at Cookham during pumpkin season.
The thing to watch: tickets are specific to branch, day and time. It is genuinely easy to book Cookham when you meant Iver, and they are half an hour apart.
Wasing Estate, Aldermaston — about an hour
16 to 18 and 23 to 31 October 2026. Confirmed.
Timed entry, booked ahead, and they warn it sells out every year. Around £5 for adults and children over two, under-twos free — though that price is from an older season page, so check it. Pumpkins by size, paid on the way out. Free parking in the field.
A decorated woodland trail leading to the pumpkin field, with a stretch tent doing hot and cold refreshments including vegan and gluten-free. The prettiest of the lot, if you have the morning for it.
Tulleys Pumpkin Festival, Crawley — about an hour
Selected days from 19 September, then daily 3 to 31 October, 9.30am to 5.30pm.
The biggest by far, and the one that is properly an event — new Pumpkin Valley for 2026, an observation wheel, thirty-odd photo spots, a pumpkin bar and roaming musicians.
Pumpkins are priced by size ring, from £1 to £25. Ticket prices are not published on their site; you book through their ticketing page.
15 October is Pooches and Pumpkins, their dog day. Their FAQ says dogs are welcome on a lead generally, but given they run a dedicated dog day we would ring and check before turning up with one on another date.
On 1 November they reopen at 4pm for an evening event with fireworks at 7.15pm.
Ones we could not confirm
We have left these out of the list above rather than send you somewhere that may not be running. All three are likely to open, none has announced.
- Priory Farm, Nutfield — no 2026 dates published. Ran 17 to 31 October in 2025.
- Peterley Manor Farm, Great Missenden — the page appears to be from 2024. Worth a call in mid-September, because if it is running it would be the best option here for anyone with a dog: free entry, free parking, no booking, dogs on leads welcome.
- Secretts, Milford — their site has pages still dated 2019, and there is planning permission granted on the site. Ring before going.
We would also gently steer you away from Odds Farm Park if a pumpkin field is what you are after. It is a good farm park, but the pumpkin offer is one small pumpkin per paying child from a patch that runs while stocks last, rather than a field you pick from.
What it actually costs
Nobody publishes this clearly, so here it is in one place. There are three different pricing models in use within an hour of us:
- By weight — Copas, at £1.20 a kilo
- By size — Tulleys use physical size rings from £1 to £25; Garsons and Wasing charge by size and type
- Per item for the small squash
In every single case, the entry ticket does not include a pumpkin. Budget for both.
Card is now the norm and several farms no longer take cash at all. Bring a strong bag — a wet pumpkin is heavier than it looks and supermarket carriers give out.
And afterwards
You come back muddy, cold and carrying something that weighs four kilos, and by the time it is carved the kitchen looks like a crime scene and everyone has lost interest.
That is fine. That is the deal.
But the good half of the day is the hour after, when the boots are off and the house smells of something. We put a candle on before we go out, on a timer, so there is light when the door opens. Something warm rather than sweet — amber, wood, a bit of spice. Cut flowers and citrus belong to May.
There is an indoor version of the whole thing, if the pumpkin on the step has put you in the mood for it. A cream ceramic pumpkin with leaves cut through the sides, so the tealight throws soft shapes on the wall. A pumpkin mug with a lid moulded like a swirl of whipped cream. A few foxes, owls and one very round hedgehog besides. It all lives in Autumn Woodland.
And a hot bath, for whoever knelt in the mud.
Save the seeds. Rinse them, toss them in a little oil and salt, twenty minutes in a hot oven. They are better than the pumpkin.
The lantern by the door, the throw, the candles that look after themselves — Autumn Evenings is where we keep all of that.